BALLSTON SPA -- What began two years ago as a modest gathering on a family farm in Charlton has evolved into a happening.

About 3,000 people are expected to converge at the Saratoga County Fairgrounds from 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday for the Saratoga Brewfest.

The four-hour festival features two-dozen food and craft vendors, three live musical acts and nearly 70 breweries from as far afield as Hawaii.

Such growth has helped to spawn a growing business venture for a pair of Saratoga County entrepreneurs.

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"Our parents have known each other since before we were born," A.J. Bodden said of his partnership with Garth Ellms. They formed Saratoga Festivals LLC. "He and I went to Union College together."

Two years ago, they joined forces again, using Ellms' 200-acre-plus family-run Christmas tree and pumpkin farm and Bodden's connections to launch Saratoga Brewfest. It is now one of three annual events they sponsor, tapping the same themes -- food, fun and suds.

Saratoga Festivals is about to double its roster of annual events, beginning with a Parrothead Festival in two weeks to pay tribute to the growing "island rock" market pioneered by Florida-based singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffet.

Later this year, they will also promote their first event outside the Capital Region, at a Syracuse minor-league ballpark.

The third edition of their Brewfest has now moved from the Ellms Family Farm to the nearby county fairgrounds, where it is slated to go on rain or shine.

During the first two years of the event, Bodden said, "the biggest problem was the sun." Tents partially solved that problem, and attendance doubled last year. This year, approached by fairgrounds management, they bought into a new locale with four open-air pavilions.

Food and live music have been components of the festival since it was launched, and more than 20 local food vendors, from sausage and pizza to artisanal cheeses to gluten-free offerings to Ben and Jerry's, will be on hand. Two local acts will entertain -- Queensbury-based party band Groove Therapy and Lake George's solo acoustic guitarist/vocalist Rich Ortiz, along with Trails to Town, a Long Island-based jam band.

The growth of the Brewfest is due to "the sheer interest in craft beer as a movement, which is growing," Bodden said. "Our idea is to promote interest in these small breweries, especially those in New York state."

Microbrewing -- whose practitioners measure their annual output in the thousands rather than millions of barrels and specialize in niche products -- is big business on the West Coast, but has now begun to account for almost one-tenth of beer sales in the Northeast as well.

"The craft beer movement is very similar to the local wine movement of 15 to 20 years ago," Bodden said.

Brewfest attendees will each receive a souvenir glass, a map of the fairgrounds and a list of breweries. More than half of the 68 breweries slated to participate (with more than 150 varieties to sample) are based in New York or New England.

"We've got the very small brewers, some of these guys with an output of less than 1,000 barrels a year," Bodden said.

After the success of their first event, Bodden and Ellms launched an OktobeerFest to complement it and, in February, they warmed up the winter months with Beer Week in Saratoga. But their first event has remained the cornerstone of their growing enterprise.

"This is no run-of-the-mill beer festival," Bodden said. "I guarantee you, you'll have something you've never had before if you come here."